POLICE are not ruling out the possibility the same man might be responsible for several indecent assaults in Ellesmere Port and Chester in the past two months.

The most recent assault occurred at about 10.15pm on Saturday, December 20, when a 16-year-old girl was walking in the Ullswater Road area of the Port, just off Stanney Lane. She was approached by a man who grabbed her arm and pushed her against a fence.

After threatening her and punching her stomach, he held a knife to her throat and indecently assaulted her.

The man is described as white and about 6ft tall. He was aged 25-30 and had short, blond spiky hair. He wore a black knee-length duffle coat and spoke with a local accent.

The victim was distressed but required no medical attention.

This latest attack follows two earlier incidents, the first of which took place on October 23 in Whitby.

The victim was a 14-year-old girl, attacked as she walked along Yewdale Drive at about 4.15pm.

The man was driving an old-style blue saloon car and indecently assaulted the girl on a footpath leading to Willowdale Way.

The man was described as white, about 5ft 8in tall and of medium build. He was aged 20-25, and wore a beige woolly hat covering his ears. He spoke with a slight Liverpool accent.

The next indecent assault took place in Alwyn Gardens, Upton, Chester, on November 3.

The attacker was described as white, between 5ft 8in and 5ft 9in tall and possibly well built. He wore a blue bomber jacket style coat, with a white logo on the chest. He was wearing a beige woolly hat.

A Cheshire police spokesperson said: 'It is not known if it is the same offender who carried out these attacks.'

Det Insp Simon Price, of Chester CID, said: 'While we are keeping an open mind at the moment, we are continuing to make inquiries to establish whether the incidents might be linked.

'However, women and girls living in the neighbourhood are being advised to take care at all times and stick together, walking in pairs rather than on their own.'

At the same time, Det Insp Price issued an e-fit of a man they'd like to speak to in connection with the Chester attack.

Anyone with any information on the attacks should call Chester CID on 01244 350222, or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.